Scent Almanac
Beeswax pillar candle
A free-standing pure beeswax pillar with a warm honey scent and golden glow. It needs relief holes and a second pour because beeswax shrinks as it cools.
- Difficulty
- ●●○
- Time
- active 1.5 h · set overnight · cure 2–4 days
Safety first
- Never leave melting wax unattended, not even for a minute. Keep children and pets out of the work area.
- Melt wax in a pouring pitcher set in a pan of simmering water (a double boiler). Never put a pitcher or pan of wax on direct heat.
- Use a candle or candy thermometer the whole time and stay inside the wax supplier's temperature range. Overheated wax smokes, discolors and can reach its flash point.
- If wax catches fire: turn off the heat and smother it with a metal lid or a thick layer of baking soda. NEVER use water, which flashes to steam and throws burning wax. Keep a lid and a class B or ABC extinguisher within reach.
- Wear closed shoes and keep a bowl of cool water nearby for splashes on skin. Hot wax sticks and keeps burning, so cool a burn under running water for 20 minutes.
- Handle fragrance oils with gloves and ventilate the room while they're hot.
- Put warning labels on any candle you give away: burn within sight, keep away from children, pets, drafts and anything flammable, trim the wick to 1/4 in (6 mm) before each burn, burn no more than 4 hours at a time, and stop when 1/2 in (13 mm) of wax is left.
- Never heat beeswax above 185°F (85°C). It darkens and its scent scorches.
- Burn pillars on a heat-proof plate or pillar holder wider than the candle, because pillars can drip and lean.
Steps
- Weigh the wax from the calculator plus about 10% extra for the repour.
- Thread the square-braid wick through the hole in the bottom of the mold with a wicking needle. Seal the hole on the outside with mold sealer putty, then pull the wick taut and tie it around a wick bar or pencil across the top so it's centered and straight. Mist metal or plastic molds lightly with mold release.
- Melt the beeswax in the double boiler. It melts at 144–147°F (62–64°C). Never let it go above 185°F (85°C).
- At 160°F (71°C), take it off the heat. If you're adding fragrance, add it now and stir gently for a full 2 minutes.
- Warm the mold with a heat gun so the sides come out smoother. Pour at 155–170°F (68–77°C), filling to about 1/2 in (13 mm) below the rim. Keep the remaining wax aside.
- As the pillar cools (after 1–2 hours), a skin forms and the center sinks around the wick. Poke 3–4 relief holes around the wick with a skewer, going most of the way down, to release trapped air pockets.
- Reheat the reserved wax to about 10°F (5°C) hotter than your first pour, but no higher than 185°F (85°C). Repour into the holes and sunken center, stopping at the original fill line. Repeat if it sinks again.
- Let it cool slowly at room temperature overnight. Don't use the fridge, because beeswax cracks when cooled fast.
- Remove the sealer, untie the wick and slide the pillar out. Level the base by pressing it gently on a warm baking sheet.
- Trim the wick to 1/4 in (6 mm) and let the pillar rest 2–4 days. Test-burn for 1 hour per inch of diameter.
Wax14.0 oz
396 g · 14.0 oz
Fragrance oil0.4 oz
12 g · 0.4 oz
Total pour14.4 oz
14.4 oz each
Starting wick#2
Test burn 3 h, then check the melt pool.
- Melt to
- 144–147°F (62–64°C) or a little above
- Add fragrance at
- 160°F (71°C), then stir gently for 2 minutes
- Pour at
- 155–170°F (68–77°C)
- Cure
- 2–4 days before judging the scent throw
Beeswax is viscous, so this is one step larger than the soy chart.
Melt about 10% more wax than the total. Some always stays in the pitcher.
If something goes wrong
- Cracks or deep sinkholes
- It cooled too fast or skipped relief holes. Cool slowly in a warm room, poke relief holes, and do the second pour 10°F (5°C) hotter.
- Stuck in the mold
- Put it in the freezer for 10 minutes to shrink it slightly, then slide it out. Use mold release next time.
- White haze (bloom) on the surface
- Natural in pure beeswax and a sign of real beeswax. Buff it off with a soft cloth or warm it lightly with a hair dryer.
- Wick drowns or the flame is tiny
- Beeswax is viscous and needs a bigger wick. Go up one square-braid size.
- Drips down the side
- The wick is too big or it's in a draft. Drop one size and keep drafts away.